France’s lush landscapes, storied towns and cities, and legendary gastronomy drew a record 102 million visitors in 2025, keeping its place as the world’s top tourist destination.
The figure was 2 million higher than in 2024. The visitors brought in 77.5 billion euros, said Atout France, the national tourism development agency.
Many of the European tourists who visited sites such as Notre Dame, the Louvre and Chartres Cathedral came from Germany and Belgium.
Nearly 15 million visitors travelled from those two countries. Just over 13 million came from Britain and 9 million from Switzerland.
Most tourists from outside Europe came from the United States and Canada.
“Tourism is a winning bet,” said Serge Papin, the minister responsible for small and medium-sized businesses, craft trades and tourism.
“It is a sector that is performing well and continues to contribute to national wealth.”
France should be proud of its position as the world’s leading destination, “which many envy us for”, Papin added.
“Tourism is a competitive sector like any other sector of the economy, and one in which we have to fight. And we are going to fight. We are a great tourism nation, and this must benefit everyone, in all regions.”
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Push for 2030 target
Papin said industry leaders must not relax as they work towards a government target of 100 billion euros in revenue from foreign tourists by 2030.
“We need to diversify our sectors,” Papin said. “We need to develop tourism based on our expertise in areas such as memorial tourism, wine tourism, and agritourism.”
He said France was “full of tourist gems” and that “every corner of France – even the least known – is Instagram-worthy”.
It was “this local tourism, rooted in the regions, connected to producers, artisans, and our roots”, that France could “develop even further”, he added.
Although France remains the most visited country, Spain records longer stays. Tourists spend seven days on average in Spain, compared with five days in France.
“In Spain, tourists are better received than in France,” Richard Vainopoulos, chairman of the Tourcom tourism agency, said.
“There are a lot more hotels of a good category and also village clubs. In France, there’s a huge shortage. You have everything you need in Paris and on the Côte d’Azur, but as soon as you leave these two regions, you have a hotel problem.”
